“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I make sure guys like you never hurt anyone again,” I tell him.
“And how the hell do you do that?’
I let a devilish smirk transform my face, enjoying the feeling of it. “How do you think? I know you saw the gun,” I say, then remove the firearm from my waistband.
“You’re going to shoot me?” Panic laces his tone. “Help!” he screams as he bangs the metal cuffs onto the pipe.
In one swift motion, I slipped behind him, both arms wrapped around his neck with my hands pressed into the top of his head and chin. Preparing to break his neck, I lean into his body thrashing underneath me.
My arm tightens around his neck. I take the barrel of my gun and bring it to his temple. “Say good night, Fester.”
And after one last muffled scream, I pull the trigger. The silencer mutes the shot and then Fester’s body is deadweight in my arms.
Relief washes over me. Like a runner’s high, my body tingles with adrenaline. And with a heavy inhale, I sit on the dirty ground and bask in a moment of pure release.
Then my phone vibrates in my front pocket.
“Stevie can’t get a hold of Lux,” Sebastian tells me before I have the chance to say hello.
I clear my throat. “What?”
“Lux’s not answering her phone.”
I step over Fester’s lifeless body. “What do you mean?”
“Are you with her?” An urgency in his voice has my hair standing on end.
“She’s at the police station with her dad.”
“Their dad told Stevie she left a half hour ago,” he rushes out.
“What do you mean a half hour ago?” I look down at my watch and realized it’s been just under two hours since I dropped her off.
My insides twist as panic seizes hold of my body. It takes every ounce of self-control not to run out of the building because I don’t want to make a scene. So I walk with purpose back toward Fester’s car, then take it back to park in the original spot. Then, finally I’m sliding into mine.
What the fuck did I do? I told her I’d always protect her and I let my impulsiveness get in the way of her safety.
“I need you to send a cleaning crew to the location I’m about to send you.” Immediately I flip the engine on.
“Why?”
“I took care of our old friend Fester Harrow.” I don’t say anything more and end the call.
While peeling out of the parking lot, I swipe into the tracker app. My heart sinks when I see Lux’s car is still in the back parking lot of the police station.
“Fuck!” I scream. I white knuckle my steering wheel, pain and fear coursing through my veins.
How could I have left her alone?
In a frenzy, I call Sebastian again. “Are you sure her dad doesn’t know she’s missing?”
“No. As far as he knows, everything is fine.”
“Okay good.” I hang up again and call Hayden.
“River,” he answers right away like always. “What’s up?”
